Hey everyone, I hope all is well and I finally have my car back on the road after having it stored for about 5 months during the Winter.

I just have a basic question about changing my Shocks and going with either Bilstein or Koni? As for the Springs, I am going to go with Eibach lowering springs.

I have NEVER changed the shocks or springs in my car and being a 1995 Trans Am, I think it's about time, lol.

In terms of the shocks, I definitely want a much smoother ride and why I ask what shocks would give me that. I feel way too many bumps in the road (no pun intended) after taking my car out for a spin the other day. I am going to lower the car at about 1.3 to 1.5 inches at the most since I have 17" rims now to go with some big tires!

Any suggestions are always appreciated!

Thanks!

Quality dampers will make the biggest difference in ride and handling for these cars.
With that said Koni's are at the top of the list.
If your dead set on Eibachs go with the pro kit because the sportlines are way too low and do not offer enough spring rate to compensate for their drop.

I personally have Strano Springs and swaybars with Koni's and it truly makes for an impressive setup.
The ride is firm without being harsh, sounds simple but that's the best to the point discription I can tell you.
There is no drama anymore, the car maintains it's composure in amost every aspect. And the handling is outstanding.

I purchased all my parts through Stranoparts.com

Thank you so much for that information, it certainly helps with my decision.

Just to throw a fly in the ointment...I've had nothing but trouble with Koni shocks and have lost two sets--one the Firebird, gone within 2,000 miles (threw them away, and when they were new, they were really stiff!), another on a Corvette. Sure, Koni shocks are rebuildable, but ask them how much. Called Koni some years back about special valving. Their advice was to buy a used set that needed rebuilding (huh, why would they be worn out?) and have the valves changed to my specs. Price? About $150/shock plus the price of the shock. First clue that they are shot...the rear end starts shuddering during a shift.

The best shocks have owned on a Firebird are KYB-AGX (adustable).

I've heard of very few issues with Koni's particularly the Single Adjustables (SA) Yellows like I have.
Koni's also have a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser
Bilstien and KYB will not warranty their shocks when used with lowering springs with Koni's there is no such problem.

The KYB's are nice but I'm not a fan of the adjustable compression and rebound with one single knob.
With the Koni's the compression is static and the rebound is adjustable.

I called Koni and they will also not warranty their shocks when used with lowering springs. Neither will Bilstein and I suspect no other shock company will. Also went thru two sets of Bilsteins and I was a believer in Bilsteins, installing them on every car that I've ever owned.

Checking with KYB, the AGX shocks are adjustable both ways with one knob. There is a posting in the archives that details the amts for each click.

Given the fact that they do not fail like Koni and Bilstein, you know where my money is going. Oh, and that warranty for Koni...doesn't do a lot of good when the price for changing the front struts costs more than the cartridge, and it takes them more than a month--that's time that your car is stuck waiting for them to be shipped back, not to mention the cost of postage. Better that they don't fail in the first place.

Wow Chuckie
don't get all steamed over someones opinion.
You have obviously had issues with those shocks and thats unfortunate but it's still only one persons experience vs hundreds of other satisfied users.
As I said earlier myself and many others have been using these shocks with ZERO issues.
Also changing the front shocks (4th Gen F-bodies don't have struts) is pretty straight forward. The only issues were removing the old shocks top nut which was rusted, after that it was a cake walk.

Steemed up?! Not me, I'm more like in the "warning mode". It could be that the two Koni sets bought over a ten year spread for two different cars were by chance defective, or not.... You pays your money and you takes your chances, but I do owe the warning and to tell you that you pays your money and takes your chances. Once bitten and all that. For me, I go with the sure thing.

Replacing the strut cartridges isn't all that easy, it's not just one nut, it's also the spring, the bearing, alignment... zip, zip it's done, but it does cost mulah if not done yourself. and I'm not making that mistake again.

In my opinion, people are fairly tolerant of shocks and the ride of their car--I"m not. I want supple and control, that takes a good shock. Neither the Koni nor the Bilstein did that job after 2,500 miles. To put it better, when the rear axle bangs around like a Jamaican steel drum band on a hard shift and my car loses 1/2 a car length to some dim bulb ricer the shocks get changed--they are 90% of the problem with rear axle control, and that is what happened with both the Koni and the Bilstein.

It's all good man
Voicing opinion is what these forums are about.
We can only give out the best information we can based on our own experiences and let the Original poster decide what is best for them.

So I agree to disagree,

Okie dokie.